This essay was written by Adrian Bloxham and was the winning social work entry in this years Critical Writing Prize 2019. I recognised that where unequal power dynamics exist in a relationship, it is usually the partner with the most power that benefits most from the interaction (Milner and OByrne, 2002). Communicating misunderstandings: Multi agency work as social practice. Reflective: Knowing when to say sorry and learning from your mistakes Motivated to care for them: [to] navigate difficult paths [in my life] and make time for me. Points and Questions to aid critical reflection: British Journal of Social Work, 1(37), pp. However, I believe the key lesson that I take from my professional relationship with Alice is to try and show the same level of astonishing resilience and generosity of spirit that Alice has demonstrated throughout her life to the present day. As an undergraduate social work student, I am very familiar with the concepts of self-reflection and the strengths perspective. It has been recognised in literature around theory in practice that overly focusing on theory when working with service users can actually hinder the work being done, as the service user can feel depersonalised (Parker, 2010). Inequalities in Child Welfare: Towards a New Policy, Research and Action Agenda. Reflective tool Munro, E., 2011. This often means that residents have little consistency and no control over who they live with, resulting in an enforced togetherness that can lead to feelings of insecurity, anxiety and fear (Bengtsson-Tops, et al., 2014). Bywaters, P., 2015. Opinions expressed on this site are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. What qualifies as a critical incident is not rigidly defined but the event should be important or significant in some way to the practitioner and should offer the opportunity for professional learning (Fook & Gardner, 2007, p. 77). Fair Society, Healthy Lives: Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post 2010. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Tangenburg, K. M. & Kemp, S., 2002. jK(H&adMl fo@Q~rpjI~~HjEI@ (+ endstream endobj 149 0 obj <>stream 840-850. By this point, I was able to reflect on my performance, address the negative concerns that needed to be worked on, and highlight my positive attributes and moving toward them. I introduced the placement setting and the case study, and then looked at my experience of reflection within this setting. JK is a man in his 50s who was born in Nigeria but moved to the UK at a young age. Web Transparency: Reflective social workers who sense an ethical issue share their concern with supervisors, colleagues, and appropriate administrators. Social workers in England, London: HCPC. This article aims to demonstrate being reflexive and doing reflexivity through reflection where, within the research, for example, the first author addressed the difference between meanings of research participants perceptions of their experiences and her own interpretations of the meanings. Furthermore, a social worker uses self-reflection to analyze personal and emotional feelings about a case or situation. The figure below shows that the reflective thinking process starts with you. The Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 5(1), pp. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Risk assessments are an integral aspect of work with vulnerable people (Parry, 2013). After having many struggles in my field setting, I began to reflect more and more on myself and my performance. It asks the student to consider: How could I improve? Reflection is a process of people exploring their understanding of what they are doing, why they are doing it, and the impact it has on themselves and others (Boud, 1999, p. 123). The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. Reflective Ameican Educational History Journal, 40(2), pp. What am I still working on? & Beresford, P., 2000. Many of us hide behind our shadows in fear that our input will be rejected or outright incorrect. Reflection In Social Work Reflection on Development of Professionalism for Social Work Reflection Maintenance of the Effect of Training in Communication Skills: A Controlled Follow-Up Study of Level of Communicated Empathy. British Journal of Social Work, Volume 47, pp. All material published on this website Copyright 1994-2023 White Hat Communications. Ingram, R., 2013. The Context of Risk Management in Mental Health Social Work. Poetics in Schizophrenic Language: Speech, Gesture and Biosemiotics. S$QFOH5{H_>\*_PCM i{xRO+ba.u_ ? endstream endobj 148 0 obj <>stream Tannebaum, R. P., Hall, A. H. & Deaton, C. M., 2013. Adopting this process has helped me to identify possible assumptions that I suspect I may have held. The asymmetry between the social worker and service user emphasises the need for the practitioner to be cognizant of the inherent power imbalance in the relationship (Leung, 2011). Suter et al (2009) have found that a willingness to communicate is a key characteristic needed for effective collaboration, and after the other professionals were not active in engaging with me, I lost this willingness, potentially to the detriment of my work with JK. & Gardner, F., 2007. The group members develop feelings of mutual interdependence and a sense of belonging. Practice: Social Work in Action, 24(3), pp. You may be required to have a take charge attitude as an advocate for your clients. Developing a Health Inequalities Approach for Mental Health Social Work. Social Work: National Association of Social Workers, 56(1), pp. British Journal of Social Work, 40(1), pp. Reflection: Turning experience into learning. 1st ed. Reducing the gender pay gap: Could more women in STEM be theanswer? Milner, J. and OByrne P. (2002) Assessment in Social Work Basingstoke: Palgrave. Yet risks remain, in essence, unpredictable phenomena that defy reliably accurate outcomes (Munro & Rumgay, 2000). Professional Categorization, Risk Management and InterAgency Communication in Public Inquiries into Disastrous Outcomes. Leung, T., 2011. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. Social workers use of critical reflection In this social work reflective log, I will focus on the social work. Unequal power dynamics, concerns around oppression and issues with stigma are all societal problems that social workers need to engage with not just on a micro-level, but also a macro-level. Social Work, 47(1), pp. Below are brief outlines of four of the most popular models arranged from easy to more advanced (tip: you can select any of the images to make them larger and easier to read). When I met with the social worker we did a role playing exercise. Oppression and discrimination also takes place at a wider level. Reflection Social Work: a forgotten piece of the integration jigsaw?. 809-824. Alice showed me a scar on her right wrist and stated that she had tried to commit suicide in the past and was now experiencing suicidal ideation once again. Social Workers As I began to work with Alice it became increasingly clear to me that she had experienced discrimination and oppression throughout her life. White, S. (2001) Auto-ethnography as reflexive enquiry: The research act as self-surveillance, in I. Shaw and N. Gould (eds), Qualitative Research in Social Work, London: Sage. That is to say, communication is not neutral and does not necessarily have a universal meaning to each element of the agency or profession (Hall & Slembrouck, 2009). As well as this, having someone essentially assessing my reflection made this even more difficult, as I was not able to reflect in a way that was personal for me. Department of Education, 2018. This more informal working setting was where he felt he could speak most openly to me. WebSocial workers also understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and recognize the extent to which a cultures structures and values, including social, economic, political, and cultural exclusions, may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create privilege and power. Tarrell Clark, BSW, is a May 2020 graduate of Stockton University and works with adults with developmental disabilities. I recognized what I was good at and pushed myself in that direction. Values and Ethics The way in which students articulated their perceptions of values and ethics in the field indicated that this Davis, A, (2007) Structural Approaches to Social Work in J. Lisham (Ed.) In 2021-22, Social Work England changed their requirements for social workers CPD (Continuing Professional Development) following a public consultation. Reflection was particularly important when making the transition from university learning to the learning experienced in a placement setting. 1174-1191. Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory. All work is written to order. Whilst there is not universal agreement (Ixer, 2016), the central importance of critical reflection to the profession of social work is widely accepted (Thompson, 2010, p. 183). The Case for Keeping COVID Modifications: Community Care: A Field Education-Based Model For Police Social Work in Rural Communities, Gatekeeping in Social Work Field Education, The Conversation: The ASWB Licensing Exam Pass Rates and Bias. .HLNq 2Avv%%% w T-?(b`n1 Critical reflection: how to develop Brookfield, S. (1998). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Models of Organising Adult Safeguarding. Finally take a critical look at my practice, and suggest things that I could have done differently. When we realised we couldnt hand in the assignment like it was, I got quite frustrated. Collingwood, P., Emond, R. and Woodward, R. (2008) The theory circle: A tool for learning and for practice Social Work Education, 27(1), 70-83. [Online] Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/411957/KSS.pdf. After identifying these strengths, the social worker will then work with the client to utilize these strengths to help them in their current situations. Applying the Strengths Perspective to Your Self-Reflection. WebEssay Writing Service. Like this article? The worker expressed a great deal of frustration at the lack of inter-agency communication, written or otherwise, and a failure to disclose key pieces of information. People diagnosed with schizophrenia are often stigmatized by a discourse of otherness which portrays people with mental health challenges as a problem who must be controlled by bio-medical, biogenetic models (Beresford & Wilson, 2002). Marmot, M., 2010. The Social Work ASYE: Guidance for NQSWs completeing the ASYE in adults and child settings. These service users particularly challenged me, as I found their intersecting issues usually stretch well beyond their dual diagnosis, to other areas like housing or physical health. The whole thrust of the conversations, whilst acknowledging the trauma of the past and the difficulties of the present, were very much focused on the aim of Alice moving-on in both a literal and metaphorical sense. 1st ed. Knott, C. and Spafford, J. At the time of my critical incident Alice was failing to attend to personal hygiene on a regular basis, frequently appeared to be experiencing low mood and would often break down in tears even when engaging in mundane, everyday conversation. The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods, Practicing Social Work: Meeting the Professional Challenge. Although I engage with and explored multiple models of reflection during my placement, the model of reflection that I found most useful was Schons theory of reflection (Schon, 1983; 2002). 1st ed. The Student Work Reflection is a set of simple repeating questions to consider how they approach each task in school. 6-23. Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook. 553-573. Reflective Thinking in Social Work: Learning from Student Narratives. 91-105. Read, J., 2010. To some extent this is an area that I found reflection lacking in. Support from colleagues and supervisors was also invaluable in this process (Ruch, 2002). The Learning Centre - UNSW. London: SAGE. Due to the limits of the current medium, I will be focusing mostly on reflection-on-action. The Six Cornered Addictions Rescue System (SCARS) was useful in that it took into account a person who was dealing with an addictions situation holistically, rather than just focusing on the addiction in isolation (McCarthy and Galvani, 2004). Social Work Skills and Knowledge ; A Practice Handbook. Others time? Of particular importance when working with service users who have a dual diagnosis was systems theory, and I found this theory to be particularly important when reflecting on Session A. Healy (2005) has recognised that systems theory have been highly influential on the knowledge base of social work. Whilst the idea of partnership suggests equality and collaboration, practitioners should still manage power relations with service users carefully, especially where a lack of confidence inhibits the service user from taking on the responsibility of partnership (Dalrymple & Burke, 2006). No plagiarism, guaranteed! Alices deteriorating mental health led me to conclude that her social worker needed to be informed of the situation. I want to be able to help people who need the help. The physical scars on Alices body as a result of these experiences can be understood from a postmodern perspective as embodied manifestations of power and oppression (Tangenburg & Kemp, 2002). WebUnderstanding peer reflection and CPD. Examples Ruch, G. (2002) From triangle to spiral: reflective practice in social work education, practice and research, Social Work Education, 21(2), 199-216. Although I met his CPN and his drug worker, at no stage was a multi-agency meeting held that I was invited to. In this example of a critical reflective log, I will focus on the social work PCF domain 2: Values and Ethics I will also draw on other domains such as values and ethics, rights, justice and economic well-being, critical reflection and analysis, diversity and knowledge. It can help students to analyze and integrate past and current knowledge into their practice. 987-1004. Social Work Education, 18 (2), 121-132. A degree of scepticism about existing knowledge, beliefs and values. Kemshall, H., Wilkinson, B. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. The implementation of The Care Act 2014 introduced new responsibilities and statutory duties on local authorities and partner agencies with an emphasis on moving away from process-driven practice (Cass, 2015). Lightening: What came as a surprise? Reflections It would be interesting to see if student performance could increase if the combination of these two subjects were integrated into student assessments and self-assessments during their experiences. Even where social work is undertaken with the best of intentions, for example in anti-oppressive practice, there is a danger that the voice and knowledge of the service user is lost by the intervention of the expert practitioner (Wilson & Beresford, 2000). 291-307. Healing Eucharist Mass | Teleradyo (30 April 2023) - Facebook Social Work 1st ed. I have a career, not in social work, but I have an opportunity, at 47, to get free schooling. During the course of this exchange Alice disclosed to me that she felt trapped, bullied by a member of staff and other residents, and that she was feeling utterly powerless with no hope of moving on from the hostel. Schn (1999) introduced the concepts of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action in his book The Reflective Practitioner. 409-418. 885-902. Reflection can help increase students awareness of their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences and therefore build a greater capacity for empathy with clients. 1205-1223. & Burke, B., 2006. Findings. He had an allocated community psychiatric nurse (CPN) who would visit occasionally, and at times he also met with a psychiatrist. Working closely with JK over a period of several months supported me to be able to identify any issues quickly, and by the time I we were engaged in Session A, we had a good working relationship. The social worker talked through the steps that needed to be taken by Alice and the support that she would need in order to achieve this goal, a process referred to as the amplification of personal agency (Parton & OByrne, 2000, p.60). & Padgett, D., 2017. There are several aspects of my being that I can affectively contribute to the social work profession. Please contact the publisher for permission to reproduce or reprint any materials on this site. Peer group reflective models including action learning principles also meet the restorative needs of a demanding profession and consequently learning and mutual support to address the emotional demands of social work, reflection and mutual learning are preferred over managerialist models of supervision (Boahen et al, 2021). However, a judgment will ultimately need to be made as to whether the rights and needs of a vulnerable service user are best served by advocating for Alices wishes or actively encouraging another course of action that is safer for Alice (Kemshall, et al., 2013). Critical Thinking and Professional Judgment for Social Work. The other type of reflection Schon notes is reflection-in-action, or reflecting on your actions as you are doing them, and considering issues like best practice throughout the process. The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. Trevithick, P., 2012. Fook, J., 2012. Nerdrum, P., 1997. In Session A this allowed me to see how JKs addiction and mental health problems were also linked to issues with accommodation, physical health, relationships and employment. Living in supportive housing for people with serious mental illness: A paradoxical everyday life. Social Work: A Critical Approach to Practice, Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook. Therefore, I found it important to not just reflect on my work and the working environment, but also the process of reflection itself. It has been noted that the theory base of social work is dominated by euro-centric discourse, meaning that certain paradigms or perspectives may be excluded unintentionally (Trevethick, 2012). Rain: What didnt go well? Williams, C. C., Almeida, M. & Knyahnytska, Y., 2015. WebIt provides a simple but effective model for reflective practice by inviting you to reflect on an event or experience using the following stages: Sunshine: what went well with the event/experience? 175-188. 1st ed. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. Finally, I used this reflection to look at things that I could have done differently, including a decreased focus on theory and engaging more with other services. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(9), pp. Ixer, G., 2016. [Online] Available at: www.skillsforcare.org.uk. Theorizing Social Work Practice. Schizophrenia, Socio-Economic Status and the Case for Primary Prevention. The number of professions and agencies involved with this single client illustrates the multiple points of contact and potential challenges that operating in this contemporary inter-agency environment presents. Social Work Field in the Time of Corona: Moving Forward Professionally From the Unexpected, A Common Experience: MSW Interns and the Fear of Treating Trauma. (1999) Critical reflectivity in education and practice in B. Pears and J. Fook (eds) Transforming Social Work Practice: Postmodern Critical Perspectives, St Leonards: Allen and Unwin, 195-208. & Baker, K., 2013. 1st ed. The role of housing in adult safeguarding. I exceeded the expectations of my supervisor, and she began assigning me more tasks.
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